Have you considered those Dogs?
Slow your role, my man. Dixon is by far the best RB in Tech history? I certainly wouldn't say by far. And there's no way Daniel Porter is No. 2. I think you're forgetting just how good Ryan Moats was. If circumstances hadn't forced him to leave Ruston too soon, he'd have made an even greater mark on the program's history. Moats has five of the top 10 single-game performances in school history. Dixon has one, Porter none. Moats has two of the top three single-season rushing totals. Dixon has No. 4 and No. 7, but has yet to top Moats' 1,300-yard season in 2003 much less his school-record 1,774-yard season in '04 (he certainly could top both of those marks this year). Porter is at No. 10 and No. 11. While Porter is the career rushing leader, he did it in four complete seasons on teams that frankly weren't all that good (averaging five wins per year). Moats rushed for 240 fewer yards in his career, which included basically just two years in the backfield. He was explosive and dynamic. I'm not convinced when it's all said and done next year that Dixon won't have a better overall career than Moats, but right now I'd still put him as the top back in school history.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
Driskel running the read option could be a game changer for Dixon this year. No one last year respected Sokols running. Driskel should rush for 1000 yards this year. The guy has legit 4.5 speed and power for a 230 lb Qb. Dixon should get at least 1500 yards rushing this year.
As for the best RB ever at Tech, the records Dixon has set say yes he the best to this point. If he leads this team to 10 or 11 or 12 wins this season, there will be no doubt.
My only complaint about Dixon is he shows pain way too much after a play has finished. I know he is a tough guy and plays through it but it looks bad whenever he gets dinged.
Derrick Douglas and Jason Davis should be added for consideration. DD would gain 5 yards on every run and Jason Davis was a hard runner with great speed and durability. Not really in the same category as Dixon and Moats because of the offense ran at the time but JD would have been awesome in the read option.
CS's mention of Derrick Douglas and Jason Davis reminds me that there are many guys I didn't know. I only followed the whole team back then so the players back in the late 70's through the early 90's I don't know by name. I guess I really started following individuals again with Tim Rattay and company.
Thats exactly my point about Porter, he played on some poor teams. Lets not forget Moats ran behind a dam good oline. Anyone would have run over 1000 yards behind that line. But to me Dixon is number one, he came in as a true freshman running over guys. He scores a lot of TD's
Jason Cooper was pretty good too in early 90's. A work-horse who had a lot of carries and still averaged close to 5 yds/carry.
I'd have loved to have seen Moats run in that Dykes system. I hesitate to give Dixon too, too much credit for his 28 TDs. Yes, he ran the ball and the production was amazing, but his ability to find the end zone reduced sharply once Dykes left town. If he continues to improve and has a strong senior season, then I'll be more than willing to consider him the best in school history. Moats' career was so amazing and yet so unsatisfying at the same time. He only got the ball as a sophomore once Ralph Davis got in trouble. Not only did we not get a senior season from Moats, we got a freshman season where all he did was return kicks. I wish Bicknell and Conroy had handed him the ball a little earlier.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
We got to see some really good running backs in the Joe.
Kenneth Dixon
Daniel Porter
Ryan Moats
The best part of this is we are not even bringing up receivers. This is going to be arguably the most talented set of receivers Tech has ever had. I have a mini man crush on Henderson. Henderson could be one of the best ever if he keeps progressing.
Fun off-season discussion.
My 2 cents:
Williams was better than a lot of people remember in college.
Close call between Moats and Dixon (when in doubt, however, ties go to the Arkansan just as a general rule of thumb).
Our receiving corps may end up being pretty good as a group, but that bunch that we had in the late 90s was very good top to bottom. Some of that was good QB play from Rattay, but the '97, '98, and '99 groups were salty. Any group plus Edwards was going to be a good position group, but you could make a good case for '99 being the best WR group we've ever had even after he left. They were dependable and big. Even before the big upset, the pre-game notes for the 1999 Alabama game mentioned how much bigger our WRs were than their DBs - and it was a common comment in wrap-up articles afterward, especially given how that game ended.